Israeli president grants Netanyahu extension to form government

The Israeli president, Reuven Rivlin, on Monday approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a two-week extension to form a government, according to a statement released by his office.

“After you presented the need for additional time to complete forming a government, and according to clause 8 of Basic Law: The Government, I hereby extend the time allocated to form a government by 14 days.’’

Rivlin had initially given Netanyahu four weeks to form a government when lawmakers recommended him to be prime minister after last month’s parliamentary elections.